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Just a Minute Rule Bill

Add a little levity to legislating
  [vote for,

In the UK parliament, there is a rather bizarre seeming arrangement when every so often an MP gets the chance to stand up for ten minutes and explain why there should be a bill passed to do X. He talks for ten minutes and then the other MPs say aye or no, and if he has been convincing his bill gets a chance to be read out and voted on at some point. This is called the ten minute rule bill.

Rather than this truly bizarre arrangement, I propose a system where ten times as many MPs get their chance. Rather than speaking for ten minutes, the MP must speak for one minute, and this is the important part, without hesitation, deviation or repetition.

This will not only make matters fairer, but also make things far more entertaining for those watching from the gallery or on BBC parliament.

(I will fight any mfd by claiming to be satire rather than bad punning. I might even win.)

RobertKidney, Jul 22 2004

Ten Minute Rule Bill http://news.bbc.co....ament/t-z/82012.stm
[RobertKidney, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Just a Minute http://www.bbc.co.u...y/justaminute.shtml
for those poor deprived souls who haven't heard of it. (It has been possible to listen online for a while now.) [RobertKidney, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]


       if there is an objection from say a Tory about a Labour bill, would the Tory have to take up the challenge? +1
po, Jul 22 2004

       He would have the option of speaking against the bill if he wanted to. Private members bills aren't allways split on political lines though, so he might just want to carry on.
RobertKidney, Jul 22 2004


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